JP2008012772A - Printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To constitute a printing apparatus which performs printing of a good image quality to a printing medium by maintaining the printing medium at a proper humidity. <P>SOLUTION: The printing apparatus is equipped with an introducing mechanism which introduces the humidification air of a humidifier X via a duct 60 to a case 10 of the printing apparatus. An upper wall body 10B disposed at a position where an upper opening formed at an upper part of the case 10 is covered is coupled to a right moving frame 61 and a left moving frame 62. The right moving frame 61 and the left moving frame 62 are supported to the case 10 so as to be freely movable in a take-out direction. A clearance is formed between the upper wall body 10B and the case 10 by taking out the upper wall body. The air from the interior of the case 10 can be exhausted through this clearance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention includes a housing that houses a medium supply mechanism that supplies a print medium to a print unit and an ink jet print head that prints an image by spraying ink onto the print medium supplied to the print unit. More specifically, the present invention relates to a technique for improving print quality by managing humidity.

  As printing apparatuses that improve print quality by controlling humidity, there are apparatuses described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2.

  In Patent Document 1, in a transfer-type printing apparatus using a photosensitive drum (a copying machine in the literature), a photosensitive drum, a charging charger, a cleaning unit, and other devices necessary for image formation, a registration roller, a paper feeding device, and the like A humidity control unit is provided on the back side of the main body that houses the container. An air outlet and an air inlet are formed in the main body, and both ends of the humidity control unit are connected to the air outlet and the air inlet, and a fan is provided at the connecting portion.

  An air flow path is formed in the upper space of the central part of the humidity control unit, a water storage tank for storing purified water is formed in the lower part, a dehumidification heater is provided in the air flow path, and a humidification heater is provided at the bottom of the water storage tank The humidity control unit includes a humidity sensor.

  Then, the humidity detected by the humidity sensor is compared with the predetermined optimum humidity in the machine. If the difference between the optimum humidity in the machine is large, the fan speed is increased. When the heater is turned on and humidification is performed, the control mode is set so that the humidification heater is turned on. By performing this control, the influence from the external environment where the apparatus is installed is minimized, and the occurrence of a partial abnormal image is prevented and good image formation is maintained.

  In Patent Document 2, in a printing apparatus (in the document, a color thermal printer), humidity control paper as a humidity control material is provided inside a magazine that accommodates long thermal paper in a roll shape. The humidity control paper has a function of absorbing moisture when the humidity is high and releasing moisture when the humidity is low, and maintains the humidity in the magazine at the standard humidity. As a result, recording of an image having a good density and color balance is realized.

JP-A-9-81018 JP-A-10-29355

  There are two types of print media used in a printing apparatus including an ink jet type print head. In a printing apparatus for printing an image photographed by a digital camera, a porous type paper is often used in order to obtain the same glossiness as a print using photosensitive paper. This type of paper forms a resin layer on the surface in order to create a glossy surface, but this resin layer has a structure in which many fine holes are formed to absorb the ink sprayed from the print head from the surface. The surface is somewhat hard.

  As described above, the paper having gloss on the surface has a hard surface, and thus may cause fine cracks on the surface in a low humidity environment. Such a phenomenon that causes cracking often occurs when the paper surface is bent in a direction in which tension is applied. For this reason, when this type of paper is wound in a roll shape with the surface to which ink is sprayed facing outward, cracking occurs on the surface when the paper is bent in a direction that further curves the bending direction of the roll. When the surface is cracked in this way, not only the glossiness of the surface is impaired, but also the ink that has been sprayed is blurred, which leads to a negative effect of lowering the image quality.

  In particular, roll-shaped printing paper is transported to the print head in the form of being wound around a roller, so that cracks may occur on the surface during transportation. To prevent this cracking, the humidity of the printing paper is reduced. It is desired to maintain it properly.

  However, even if a configuration in which water is evaporated at the time of humidification such as that described in Patent Document 1 is used for a printing apparatus having a relatively large casing, the humidified air is sufficiently contained in the casing. It was also imagined that they couldn't get enough to give the paper enough moisture. Further, in the case of using a humidity control material such as that described in Patent Document 2, it is considered that humidification cannot be sufficiently performed in the season when the air dries, and there is room for improvement.

  An object of the present invention is to rationally configure a printing apparatus that performs printing with good image quality on a print medium while maintaining the print medium inside the housing at an appropriate humidity.

A feature of the present invention is that a housing includes a medium supply mechanism that supplies a print medium to a print unit and an ink jet print head that prints an image by spraying ink onto the print medium supplied to the print unit. Printing device
A humidifier for supplying humidified air to the inside of the casing is installed outside the casing, and includes an introduction mechanism for introducing the humidified air generated by the humidifier into the casing. A discharge portion for sending internal air to the outside of the housing is formed in the housing, and this discharge portion is configured such that the opening area for discharge can be changed.

  With this configuration, humidified air from a humidifier installed outside the casing is introduced into the casing by the introduction mechanism, and the humidified air thus introduced humidifies the print medium, and then from the discharge section. It is sent out of the case. When air is sent out from the discharge part, the flow rate of the discharged air can be set by adjusting the opening area of the discharge part. In other words, by forming a discharge part that sends out the air inside the housing to the outside of the housing, the humidified air introduced into the housing by the introduction mechanism is caused to flow inside the housing even when the housing is large. Since it will be sent out later, it becomes possible to create a flow of humidified air inside the housing in this way, there is no unreasonable flow of air when humidifying the print medium, and the humidified air is spread inside the housing It is possible to Further, by adjusting the amount of air sent out by the discharge unit, it is possible to adjust the flow rate of air inside the housing and the time during which humidified air stays in the housing. As a result, even when printing in a low-humidity environment, the humidified air generated by a humidifier installed outside the housing is sufficiently introduced inside the housing to maintain the print medium at an appropriate humidity. A printing apparatus has been rationally constructed that eliminates scratches such as cracks on the surface and prints with good image quality on a print medium.

  The present invention comprises a wall body at a position covering the opening formed in the housing, and by moving the wall body in an opening direction, at any position where a gap is formed between the opening section, A position holding mechanism for holding the wall body is used, and the gap formed by the position holding mechanism is used as the discharge portion, and the introduction mechanism has a duct for introducing humidified air from the humidifier to the housing. You may prepare.

  With this configuration, the wall body provided to cover the opening of the housing is moved in the opening direction, and held at an arbitrary position by the holding mechanism, so that the opening is not specially formed with respect to the housing. A discharge portion having a required opening area can be formed. Further, by sending the humidified air from the humidifier to the casing through the duct, the humidified air can be introduced into the casing without waste.

The present invention supports a moving frame that supports one end portion of the wall body in the lateral direction and a moving frame that supports the other end portion so as to be movable with respect to the housing. The size of the gap can be changed by setting the amount of movement, and
The position holding mechanism is configured to include a holding member that applies a frictional force to the pair of moving frames and holds the pair of moving frames at an arbitrary moving position, and moves the two moving frames in the front-rear direction by an equal amount. May be provided.

  With this configuration, even when a biased force is applied to the wall body when operating the wall body, the parallel movement mechanism moves the two moving frames equally to move the wall body in parallel, The gap formed between the opening of the housing can be made equal (interval) in the lateral direction. As a result, the amount of air discharged from the gap can be made uniform in the width direction, and the flow amount of humidified air inside the housing can be averaged to eliminate the unevenness of humidification. In addition, when the two moving frames are operated to move, the position of the moving frame can be frictionally held by the holding member, and there is no need to perform a special operation for holding, for example, as in the case of holding the clamp by operating the clamp. .

  In the present invention, the wall body is supported on one of the two moving frames through a hinge so as to be opened and closed, and the other is linked to be connected to and separated from the wall body via a lock mechanism. You may do it.

  With this configuration, when the lock mechanism is in a connected state, for example, by performing an operation of pulling out the wall body, it is possible to move the wall body to form a gap, and the lock mechanism is disconnected. In this case, regardless of the position of the moving frame, the wall body can be swung by a hinge, and the opening of the housing can be greatly opened. By performing the opening operation in this manner, not only can the internal air be quickly discharged from the opening, but also the internal maintenance of the housing can be easily performed.

  According to the present invention, the position holding mechanism is configured such that the wall body is disposed at a front surface position of the print unit at an upper portion of the housing, and the gap is formed by pulling the wall body forward. A humidifier may be disposed on the side of the housing, and the duct may be disposed between the upper end of the humidifier and the side of the housing.

  In this configuration, since the humidifier is arranged at the side position of the casing, for example, when the operator performs work while standing in front of the casing, the humidifier does not interfere with the work, and the print section A gap as a discharge portion can be formed by pulling out the front wall of the.

  The present invention may include a humidity sensor inside the housing, and may include humidity control means for operating the humidifier when the humidity measured by the humidity sensor is below a target humidity value. .

  With this configuration, when the humidity measured by the humidity sensor falls below the target humidity value, the humidifier is operated to introduce the humidified air generated by the humidifier into the inside of the housing. Even when printing is performed in a low humidity environment, the humidity of the print medium can be maintained appropriately.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
〔overall structure〕
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, two magazine accommodating portions A and A are arranged at the lower portion of the housing 10, and an ink jet type printing portion B that performs printing by spraying ink is arranged at the upper portion of the housing 10, An ink storage unit C is arranged on the side of the housing 10, and a sorting unit 12 that feeds a relatively small size paper P (an example of a print medium) to the upper surface of the housing 10 with the lateral feed belt 11, and a large size. An ink jet printing apparatus is configured by arranging a rack plate 13 for receiving the size paper P.

  In this printing apparatus, as the paper P, a porous ink receiving layer having a large number of fine pores is formed on the surface side of the base on which the resin coat film is formed on the front and back surfaces, so that the surface has a glossy surface. The type is used.

  The two magazine housing portions A, A are arranged in a vertically positioned relationship, and each magazine housing portion A is provided with a drawer 15 that can be opened and closed by a sliding operation integrated with the front wall body 10A. It is configured so that it can be set. The magazine M includes a case 1 in which a space for accommodating a roll-shaped paper P serving as a print medium is formed, a pair of support rollers 2 that support the paper P in the case, and a pressure bonding that conveys the paper P by pressure. A mold feed roller 3 is provided (see FIG. 4).

  The print unit B is configured to print an image on the paper P supplied from the magazine housing unit A by spraying ink with the print head H (see FIGS. 4 and 5). An upper wall 10B formed with a transparent resin plate window W is provided on the front surface of B so as to be freely opened and closed.

  In the ink reservoir C, a plurality of ink cartridges 16 of different hues are exchangeably disposed inside a side wall 10C that can swing and open around an axial center in a vertically oriented posture. Each ink cartridge 16 encloses black (BK), light black (LK), cyan (C), magenta (M), light cyan (LC), light magenta (LM), and yellow (Y) ink. Seven colors are used. Although not shown in the drawing, the ink jet type printing apparatus feeds the ink enclosed in the ink cartridge 16 by air pressure, temporarily stores it in a sub tank (not shown), and then supplies it to the print head H. An ink supply system is provided.

[Conveyance system configuration]
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the printing apparatus supplies paper P from the magazine M to a printing unit B by a supply unit U1 (an example of a medium supply mechanism). The printing process is executed while transporting at U2, and after this printing, the cutter unit U3 cuts to a print size, and then passes from the switchback unit U4 to the discharge unit U5. It is equipped with a transport system that sends it to the outside.

  The supply unit U1 includes a guide body 18 provided in the upper magazine housing portion A and a paper P sent out from the upper magazine M so as to guide the paper P sent out from the lower magazine M upward. And a guide body 19 for guiding the upper side of the upper side. As shown in FIG. 4, the supply unit U <b> 1 drives the support roller 2 and the feed roller 3 to feed the paper P from the magazine M and rewind the magazine M. A motor D1 is provided.

  The print transport unit U2 includes a pressure-bonded first transport roller 21 disposed on the upstream side of the print head H, and a pressure-bonded second transport roller 22 disposed on the downstream side of the print head H. A guide plate 23 is provided for guiding the back side of the paper P at an intermediate position between the first and second transport rollers 21 and 22. Below the guide plate 23, a negative pressure case 24 that applies a negative pressure to the paper P through a number of through holes formed in the guide plate 23, and air inside the negative pressure case 24 is discharged. And a fan 25 for generating negative pressure.

  The first conveyance roller 21 includes a driven roller 21A for pressure-conveying the paper P, and the second conveyance roller 22 includes a driven roller 22A for pressure-conveying the paper P. A belt drive interlock 26 that synchronously drives the second transport roller 22 is provided. The print transport unit U2 includes an electric second motor D2 that drives the first transport roller 21 and the second transport roller 22 in synchronization.

  The print unit B supports a carriage 29 on a slider 28 guided by a guide rail 27 arranged in a posture along the main scanning direction (the width direction of the paper P), and the print head H is disposed on the lower surface side of the carriage 29. Support.

  A timing belt type driving belt 31 is wound around a pair of pulleys 30 arranged in the vicinity of both ends of the guide rail 27, and an electric type main scanning scanning motor DS for driving one pulley 30 is provided. By fixing the carriage 29 to the belt 31, the pulley 30 is driven and rotated by the driving force of the scanning motor DS, and the print head H is reciprocated integrally with the carriage 29.

  With such a configuration, when printing an image on the paper P, the paper P is supplied to the printing position by the first and second transport rollers 21 and 22, and a negative pressure is applied from the guide plate 23 to guide the paper P. The carriage 29 is operated in one direction along the main scanning direction in a state where the paper P is attracted to the plate 23 and the planar accuracy of the paper P is increased (in association with the operation in the main scanning direction), and this operation is linked. Then, an image is printed with the print width set by spraying ink from the print head H onto the paper P.

  By starting printing in this way, after the carriage 29 reaches the operating end, the first and second transport rollers 21 and 22 transport the paper P by a unit transport amount corresponding to the print width, and thereafter While the carriage 29 is operated in the other direction (reverse direction) along the main scanning direction, a printing operation with a print width is performed in conjunction with this operation. By repeating this printing operation, an image is printed on the paper P.

  The cutter unit U3 includes a fixed blade 35 fixed to a frame (not shown), a movable blade 36 that is operably supported, an electric cutter motor DC that drives the movable blade 36, and the cutter motor. A crank-type drive mechanism 37 that converts a rotational driving force from the DC into a reciprocating operating force, and a pressure-bonding type discharge roller 38 that conveys the paper P that has passed the cutting position of the cutter unit U3. An electric third motor D3 that drives the roller 38 is provided.

  The switchback unit U4 includes a driving roller 40, a free-rotating reversing roller 41 disposed at a position where it is pressed against the driving roller 40, and the reversing roller 41 operates 90 degrees in both forward and reverse directions around the axis of the driving roller 40. And a reversing mechanism. In this switchback unit U4, the paper P fed from the front end side by being conveyed by the discharge roller 38 is further conveyed in a state where it is pressure-bonded by the driving roller 40 and the reverse roller 41, and as indicated by an arrow in FIG. In addition, after the reversing roller 41 is rotated 90 degrees around the axis of the driving roller 40, the driving roller 40 is reversed to feed the paper P from the rear end side to the discharge unit U 5, and the paper P is turned upside down. It is configured to let you.

  The switchback unit U4 includes an electric fourth motor D4 that drives the driving roller 40, and an electric reversing motor DR that reversely operates the reversing roller 41 as the reversing mechanism.

  The discharge unit U5 includes a plurality of pressure rollers 45 for transporting the paper P, and a path for feeding the paper P transported by the pressure rollers 45 to either the lateral feed belt 11 or the rack plate 13 at the top of the housing. A switching mechanism (not shown) is provided, and an electric fifth motor D5 that drives the pressure roller 45 is provided.

  The humidifier X includes a case 5, a tank 6 for storing water, a transpiration mechanism 7, and a discharge fan 8 for sending humid air from the transpiration mechanism 7 upward from the discharge portion 5A. The transpiration mechanism 7 has a structure in which water stored in the tank 6 is brought into contact with a heater to send it out as water vapor, and water stored in the tank 6 is sucked up into a mat or the like and vaporized by bringing it in contact with air from a fan or the like. Alternatively, the humidifier X includes a control device 50 (see FIG. 7) provided in the printing apparatus main body, and the like. Control).

[Configuration for humidification]
An introduction space 14 that protrudes to the side and communicates with the internal space of the casing 10 is formed integrally with the casing 10 below the sorting unit 12 of the casing 10 of the printing apparatus. An introduction opening 14A is formed on the lower surface side. The humidifier X is disposed below the introduction space 14, and a duct 60 (an example of an introduction mechanism) is provided between the introduction opening 14 </ b> A and the discharge portion 5 </ b> A of the humidifier X. The space includes a humidity sensor Sh.

  The upper wall body 10 </ b> B is formed to have a size covering an upper opening 10 </ b> S formed on the front surface side of the upper portion of the housing 10. As shown in FIGS. 3, 6, 8, and 9, a right moving frame 61 that is slidable in the front-rear direction is supported on the inner surface on the right side of the upper opening 10S. A left moving frame 62 that is slidable in the front-rear direction is provided on the inner surface on the left side of the opening 10S.

  The right moving frame 61 and the left moving frame 62 are formed with a plurality of long holes 61A and 62A whose longitudinal direction is set in the front-rear direction, and bent pieces 61B and 62B are formed at the front ends. Guide bolts 63 that pass through the respective long holes 61A and 62A are projected from the inner surface of the housing 10, and the guide bolts 63 are inserted into the corresponding long holes 61A and 62A to connect the washer 64 and the disc spring 65. The right moving frame 61 and the left moving frame 62 are movably supported in the direction in which the long holes 61A and 62A are formed (front-rear direction) by screwing the nut 66 into the end portion, and at the moving position. The position is held by a frictional force caused by pressure from a disc spring 65 (an example of a holding member). Thus, the position holding mechanism K that holds the positions of the right moving frame 61 and the left moving frame 62 by the frictional force is configured.

  Rack gears 61G and 62G are integrally formed at the upper end portions of the right moving frame 61 and the left moving frame 62, and the pinion gear 68 meshing with the rack gears 61G and 62G can be freely rotated inside the housing 10. It is connected to the end of the supported shaft 69. The rack gears 61G and 62G, the pinion gear 68, and the shaft body 69 constitute a parallel movement mechanism F. The parallel movement mechanism F is used when the operation of pulling only one of the upper wall bodies 10B in the left-right direction is performed. As described above, even when a biased force is applied, the right moving frame 61 and the left moving frame 62 are operated by an equal amount to function to translate the upper wall body 10B.

  The right end of the upper wall 10 </ b> B is connected to the bent piece 61 </ b> B of the right moving frame 61 via a hinge 67. The bent piece 62B of the left moving frame 62 functions as a contact surface with which the left end of the back surface of the upper wall body 10B comes into contact. The bent piece 62B is located on the left side of the back surface of the upper wall body 10B. A positioning hole 62T into which the protruding positioning portion 10T is engaged is formed. Further, the lock arm 70 supported by the upper wall body 10B is engaged with the upper end of the bent piece 62B.

  The hinge 67 has a function of supporting the upper wall body 10 </ b> B so as to be swingable around the axial center Y in the vertical orientation. The lock arm 70 is supported on the back surface side of the upper wall body 10B so as to be swingable around a shaft body 71 in a lateral orientation, and is linked to be able to switch between a connected state and a separated state with respect to the upper wall body 10B. To do. Further, a knob 72 for operating the lock arm 70 and a crane spring 73 for urging the lock arm 70 in the lock direction are provided on the back side of the upper wall 10B. The lock arm L, the shaft body 71, the knob 72, and the vine spring 73 constitute a lock mechanism L.

  With this configuration, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 9A, when the operator pulls the upper wall body 10B at the push-in position forward, the right moving frame 61 and the left moving frame are arranged. As a result of moving forward, the slit 62 is formed as a discharge portion between the upper edge of the upper wall 10B and the upper opening 10S of the housing 10 as shown in FIGS. 8B and 9B. A gap G is formed. The slit-shaped gap G can be adjusted by the amount of the upper wall body 10B drawn, and the opening area of the gap G (an example of the discharge portion) can be changed by this adjustment.

  When the upper wall body 10B is pushed to the movement limit, the right moving frame 61 and the left moving frame 62 move rearward so that the upper end of the upper wall body 10B and the peripheral portion of the upper opening 10S are moved. There is no gap when touched.

  Whether the upper wall 10B is in the pushed-in position or the position pulled forward, when the operator inserts the hand from the upper left edge of the upper wall 10B and pulls up the knob 72 As shown in FIG. 8B, the connection between the lock arm 70 and the bent piece 62B of the left moving frame 62 is released, and as shown by the phantom line in FIG. 9B, around the axis Y of the hinge 67. The upper wall 10B is allowed to swing in the opening direction, and the upper opening 10S can be opened largely.

[Control system configuration]
In this printing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 7, a signal system for inputting a measurement result from the humidity sensor Sh to the control apparatus 50 is formed, and the control apparatus 50 via the power control unit PS An output system for controlling the humidifier X is formed. The control device 50 not only performs control necessary for printing, but also performs control to maintain the humidity of the internal space of the housing 10 at an appropriate value, and realizes control to maintain this humidity at an appropriate value. Thus, a humidity control means HC made of software is provided.

  In this printing apparatus, the power control unit PS for supplying electric power to the humidifier X cuts off the electric power from the commercial power source and the electric power so that the commercially available humidifier X can be used. Thus, the one using a relay or a power control element is assumed. The power control unit PS may be configured to supply power to the humidifier X from the housing 10 to the printing apparatus, or may be configured to control each part of the humidifier X independently.

  When the humidity control means HC determines that the humidity measured by the humidity sensor Sh is lower than the target value by a set value or more, the humidification air is introduced into the housing 10 by operating the humidifier X. Then, when the humidity measured by the humidity sensor Sh reaches a target region, control for stopping the humidifier X is realized.

  Although this printing apparatus includes a duct 60 that introduces humidified air from the humidifier X into the housing 10, the housing 10 basically has a structure close to a sealed state. There is also a surface in which humidified air from X is difficult to send into the inside of the housing 10. In particular, since the printing apparatus includes the relatively large casing 10, there is a problem that it is difficult to send humid air to each part inside the casing 10. As described above, since the motors are provided with a heat source such as the control device 50 in the housing 10, an air flow (convection) caused by the rising of the heated air is generated. In addition, it is conceivable that the humidified air is guided to the inside of the housing 10 together with the air flow. However, when the heated air stays in the upper portion of the housing 10, the humidified air is supplied to the inside of the housing 10. It was also assumed that it would not be introduced in

  Therefore, in the present invention, as described above, the upper wall body 10B is pulled out, and a mechanism for forming a slit-shaped gap G between the upper wall body 10B and the upper opening 10S is provided. It becomes possible to function as a discharge unit that sends out the air inside the housing 10 to the outside, and the air inside the housing 10 is positively discharged through the discharge unit, so that the air inside the housing 10 is discharged. By creating the flow, the humidified air from the humidifier X is introduced into the housing 10 and the humidity inside the housing 10 can be increased in a short time.

  In particular, in the present invention, when the upper wall body 10B is pulled out, the parallel movement mechanism F moves the right moving frame 61 and the left moving frame 62 equally even when a biased force is applied in the left-right direction during the pulling operation. By doing so, a gap G is formed between the upper wall body 10B and the upper opening 10S so that the spacing at any position in the lateral direction is equal. As a result, the amount of air to be discharged is equalized in any part of the gap G in the lateral direction so that there is no bias in the discharge of air. In addition, the position holding mechanism K maintains the size of the gap G by holding the right moving frame 61 and the left moving frame 62 with a frictional force.

  This makes it possible to discharge the humidified air after diffusing into the housing 10 from the gap G while suppressing the phenomenon in which the humidified air from the humidifier X directly escapes from the gap G. Realizing humidification.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even when the casing 10 of the printing apparatus is relatively large, the humidified air from the humidifier X can be introduced into the casing 10 through the duct 60 as an introduction mechanism without waste. Introducing and spreading inside the housing 10 not only makes it possible to humidify the paper P, but also impairs the opening and closing function of the upper wall body 10B provided to be openable and closable with respect to the printing apparatus. In addition, a gap G having a size corresponding to achieving appropriate humidification is formed between the upper opening 10S of the casing 10 and the upper wall body 10B. This air can be discharged upward, and the humidified air from the humidifier X can be efficiently introduced into the inside of the housing 10 along with this discharge. In particular, by increasing the humidity inside the housing 10 in a short time in this way, even when performing print processing in a low humidity environment, the humidity of the paper P is close to the target value, Good printing is achieved.

  Further, by controlling the operation of the humidifier X based on the measurement result of the humidity sensor Sh provided in the housing 10, the humidifier X can be operated only when the humidity is low, and the paper P can be humidified. Therefore, the humidifier X is not operated wastefully.

[Another embodiment]
The present invention may be configured as follows in addition to the embodiment described above.

(A) As a discharge part, you may provide the shutter etc. which can form opening in the outer wall surface of the housing | casing 10, and can adjust an opening degree to this opening. In addition, as a structure for adjusting the opening degree, it may be by an artificial operation, or by an operation of an actuator.

(B) By providing a fan at the site of the introduction opening or the site of the discharge part, a configuration in which humidified air is actively sucked or discharged positively is adopted. When such a configuration is adopted, the humidity can be controlled even better by controlling the fan based on the measurement result of the humidity sensor.

(C) An actuator such as an electric motor and an opening / closing mechanism such as a gear for moving the upper wall 10B by a driving force from the actuator are provided to operate the upper wall 10B in the pulling direction. By providing the opening / closing mechanism that operates the upper wall body 10B by the driving force in this way, the gap G can be finely adjusted, and automatic control is also possible. In particular, in this opening / closing mechanism, it is possible to hold the position of the upper wall body 10B by stopping the actuator (functions as the position holding mechanism K), and the upper wall body 10B can be easily moved in parallel ( Functions as a translation mechanism F).

(D) In the embodiment, the upper wall body 10B is held by frictional force at any position (held in a stepless manner). For example, a plurality of recesses are formed in the right moving frame 61 in the moving direction. The upper wall 10B can be configured to be held in a stepped manner by providing a spring or a ball that engages and disengages with the recess.

(E) As the parallel movement mechanism F, by connecting the right movement frame 61 and the left movement frame 62 via a wire or a link mechanism, or by connecting the right movement frame 61 and the left movement frame 62 by a frame, The right moving frame 61 and the left moving frame 62 may be configured to move integrally.

Perspective view showing the entire photo printing device A perspective view showing a state in which a part of the photographic printing apparatus is opened. Front view of photo printing device Diagram showing paper transport system The perspective view which shows the conveyance structure of the paper of a printing part The perspective view which shows the structure of a left movement frame and a right movement frame Block diagram of control system Longitudinal side view showing the support structure of the upper wall body in the position where the upper wall body is pushed in and the position where it is pulled out Transverse plan view showing the support structure of the upper wall body in the position where the upper wall body is pushed in and the position where it is pulled out

Explanation of symbols

10 Housing 10B Wall (upper wall)
60 Introduction mechanism (duct)
61/62 Moving frame 65 Holding member (disc spring)
67 Hinge B Print part F Parallel movement mechanism G Discharge part (gap)
HC Humidity control means K Position holding mechanism L Lock mechanism P Print medium (paper)
Sh Humidity sensor U1 Medium supply mechanism (supply unit)
X humidifier

Claims (6)

A printing apparatus in which a housing includes a medium supply mechanism that supplies a print medium to a print unit and an ink jet print head that prints an image by spraying ink onto the print medium supplied to the print unit. And
A humidifier for supplying humidified air to the inside of the casing is installed outside the casing, and includes an introduction mechanism for introducing the humidified air generated by the humidifier into the casing. A printing apparatus in which a discharge portion for sending internal air to the outside of the case is formed in the case, and the discharge portion is configured such that an opening area for discharge can be changed.   A wall is provided at a position covering the opening formed in the housing, and the wall is moved at an arbitrary position where a gap is formed between the wall and the opening by moving the wall in the opening direction. A position holding mechanism for holding, and the gap formed by the position holding mechanism is used as the discharge unit, and the introduction mechanism includes a duct for introducing humidified air from the humidifier into the housing. The printing apparatus according to claim 1. A moving frame that supports one end portion of the wall body in the lateral direction and a moving frame that supports the other end portion are movably supported with respect to the housing, and the amount of movement of the two moving frames is adjusted. While configuring so that the size of the gap can be changed by setting,
The position holding mechanism is configured to include a holding member that applies a frictional force to the pair of moving frames and holds the pair of moving frames at an arbitrary moving position, and moves the two moving frames in the front-rear direction by an equal amount. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising:   The wall body is supported by one of the two moving frames via a hinge so as to be openable and closable, and the other is linked so as to be switchable between a state where the wall body is connected and a state where the wall body is separated via a lock mechanism. Item 4. The printing apparatus according to Item 3.   The wall body is disposed at a front position of the print unit at an upper portion of the housing, the position holding mechanism is configured to form the gap by an operation of pulling the wall body forward, and the humidifier is The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the printing apparatus is disposed on a side of the housing, and the duct is disposed between an upper end of the humidifier and a side portion of the housing.   A humidity sensor is provided inside the casing, and humidity control means for operating the humidifier when the humidity measured by the humidity sensor is lower than a target humidity value is provided. The printing apparatus according to any one of the above.

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